A transformational pathway to thrive and serve in a changing world

Upcoming Programs

Share

We live in a time of tremendous global change. And, many of us are feeling significant shifts in our personal lives and the communities in which we live and work. As unsustainable eco-social paradigms and systems collapse, we are called to seed and cultivate new visions for our future.

But how do we do that effectively?

Imagine sitting in a powerful circle of fellow change-makers, speaking your truth and remembering your nature...reconnecting with the living world, your passions and service path, and a feeling of village...cultivating a set of practices to nurture your emerging visions...moving beyond calcified constructs, beliefs, and patterns of the past and into a new era of healing, creativity, peace, joy, wholeness, reverence, love, and collaborative service...for yourself, for your community, and for a thriving planet.

THIS IS THE ECOLOGY OF LEADERSHIP JOURNEY: TRANSFORMATION AND ACTION FROM THE INSIDE OUT.

Since 2006, Ecology of Leadership (EOL) programs have served hundreds of non-profit leaders, community activists, eco-social entrepreneurs, and other conscious change-makers in deepening their paths of service by manifesting their gifts, visions, and passions in their lives, their organizations, their communities, and the world.

Through experiential, nature and community-based leadership development practices, the Ecology of Leadership program blends inquiry and skill development, self-awareness, and deepened nature connection with principles of systems thinking and permaculture. With the support of a powerful and dynamic circle, you will explore leadership from the inside out, envisioning and stepping into the possibilities you hold for your life and your service path.

The process of cultivating our leadership capacity is an adventure, full of opportunity, challenge and possibility. The Ecology of Leadership gives you the tools to navigate this adventure and bring your leadership forward in the world, supported by a powerful alliance with the natural world and a community of other leaders.

Ecology of Leadership programs are offered in a variety of formats, including evening workshops, introductions, intensives and our flagship core immersion six-month series.

WHAT YOU WILL LEARN

You will come out of EOL with a unique "Leadership Tool Bag": a collection of concrete skills, habits, mindsets and approaches to improve your well-being and effectiveness as a leader. Topics include visioning, effective communication, project development and stewardship, the ability to create and honor commitments, effective use of time and energy, and coaching skills. We also cover often-neglected aspects of inner leadership, such as cultivating gratitude, balance, ‘inner resilience’, and practices to root and ground our leadership in the heart, in nature, and in collaboration with a community of other leaders.

For many, ecological leadership becomes a new way of thinking and being. Through EOL, you will experience what is naturally yours – an intimate relationship with the natural world. You will learn to source your leadership from this connection and stay attuned to the patterns in your own life, creating a new level of effectiveness and awareness in your leadership.

On your leadership development journey, you will be supported to:

Discover your true gifts, passions and the visions you hold for your work in the world, as well as other important aspects of your life

Develop new skills and behaviors that are aligned with this vision

Create a way of living and leading that moves you toward your dreams for yourself and the world

Explore your patterns of belief, behavior and thought and determine which ones serve and which can be released and ‘composted’

Receive structured coaching and support from peers and facilitators between workshops

Adopt stress-reducing routines that connect you with nature

Take on practice assignments that will help cultivate your leadership skills and integrate the skills, mindset, and routines of the course into your daily life

Nurture a regional leadership circle that will continue to serve and support you on your leadership journey after the formal component of the program ends

MANIFESTING YOUR VISION

As EOL unfolds, you will learn to integrate nature awareness, ‘inner gardening’, and leadership skills into your daily life and service path. You will begin to experience leadership as a dynamic process that translates your awareness and insights into effective action toward your goals and making a difference in the world.

Many EOL alumni have taken remarkable strides toward living into their vision.

As part of their journey, each leader is invited to identify a project through which to actualize the tools of the program. Here are just a few accomplishments of previous EOL graduates:

Starting an organic farm

Launching new social change organizations

Helping African women have access to education and employment by learning to ride bicycles

Taking a long-envisioned walk-about around the world

Overcoming the belief that having a family and doing powerful social change work are mutually exclusive

Leading efforts for Berkeley to become a Fair-Trade Town

Providing medical relief work in conflict and disaster areas

Overcoming long-standing fears of public speaking

Writing a book

Your project may also focus on more personal or “inner” forms of transformation. Growth is the work of a lifetime and each person's path is different. Your transformation and project will reflect your own aspirations and callings.

PROGRAM LOGISTICS

Participants in our programs at Commonweal Garden are asked to bring camping gear and stay overnight during consecutive meeting dates. Please note that each Ecology of Leadership weekend starts at 9am the first day (see dates under each program offering) and ends at 5pm on the last day. Participants are asked to stay on site at Commonweal Garden for the entire duration, as we have late evening and early morning programming.

We are happy to support anyone who has questions or concerns around camping logistics. Our What To Know page has information on things you will need to know for your visit to Commonweal Garden, including directions, transportation options, site accommodations and what to bring. Please read through this information, which will answer many of your questions. When you register for one of our programs, you will also receive a detailed email with further logistics information. If you have any further questions in the meantime, please contact us.

UPCOMING ECOLOGY OF LEADERSHIP OFFERINGS 2015

The Ecology of Leadership - 3-Day Fundamentals Intensive

In these deep times of change, we need new models of leadership, community, and action sourced in connection and collaboration with life.

This 3-day Intensive provides an opportunity to explore and try on the fundamentals of the Ecology of Leadership. The weekend will provide pathways to help you walk further down the path by exploring the landscape within and without. You will experience what becomes possible when leadership is developed in deep connection with the natural world and rooted in an intimate circle made up of peers and other leaders. Together, we will explore how cultivating a deeper, more vibrant connection to our visions and gifts —and engaging a unique set of practices, mindsets, and skills — can support us in living a life that lights us up and contributes powerfully the transformation of our world.

Participants will leave with a full set of tools and practices to take home with you to apply in your relationships, community, workplace and service path.

*For those considering the 6-month EOL Immersion, this is a great opportunity to check out EOL. Those who go on to the 6-month program after the intensive will receive a partial credit toward their tuition for the Immersion.

Please note that the weekend starts at 9am on Friday and ends at 5pm on Sunday, inclusive. Participants are asked to stay on site at Commonweal Garden for the entire duration, as we have late evening and early morning programming.

There are two steps towards registration in the Ecology of Leadership program.

1 - Complete the online application form.

2 - Once your application has been reviewed you will receive an acceptance letter with a link to registration. You must complete the registration process to be fully enrolled in the program.

Full Tuition: $595

Early Bird (Register by August 1): $495

Non-Profit/RDI Alumni: $495 (Register by August 1- $445)

Student: $445 (Register by August 1- $395)

Reviewing (For EOL Alumni): $295

Cancellations up to two weeks before the workshop will be refunded, excluding a $200 processing fee. No refunds are given after this date.

The Ecology of Leadership team is committed to inclusivity, diversity and social justice. We are committed to creating a courageous, authentic space that welcomes a diverse group of participants, across lines of race, class, gender, sexual orientation and socio-economic status.

If you have financial challenges that prevent you from participating in the program, there may be a possibility of receiving a reduced tuition for the program. Please note that there are only a limited number of reduced tuition spaces available at this time, and that priority will be given to people of color.

We also encourage participants to reach out to their communities for financial support. Past participants have had great success with creating community-sourced fundraising campaigns and also with finding private donors to support their participation.

If you would like to discuss any of this further, please contact Katia Sol directly.

The Ecology of Leadership - 6-Month Core Immersion Fall Program 2015

Our core immersion series is the flagship 6-month Ecology of Leadership program. If you want an opportunity to cultivate your leadership through deep remembrance and connection with the natural world, with an experience of community or village, and with your own true nature and purpose, this journey is for you.

Weaving practical tools and frameworks together with alchemical experiences of connection and transformation, the EOL immersion journey will give you an opportunity to discover how to bring authentic, heart-centered leadership to every area of your life - including not only your work in the world, but also your health and personal well-being, your relationships, your home and family, and your community. With new tools and practices - and backed by a strong circle of peers - you will bring these together to connect to a comprehensive vision for your life, and the support to steward this vision. We will dance together between the inner and outer realms, exploring the roots and soil that inform who we are being, and their relationship to what we are doing and what we want to create in the world. Over the six months, each individual will go on their own journey of both healing and "inner permaculture" while moving towards the outer manifestation of their dreams and life purpose.

The course is designed as a modular spiral, which deepens each month. We meet one weekend per month at the permaculture design site of Commonweal Garden in Bolinas, where each weekend participants are introduced to new content, while sharing in an experience of village life and of deep connection with the natural world. We camp together by the ocean, awaken to birdsong, begin with gratitude and setting collective intentions, spend our days in various configurations of small and big groups learning together in the yurt and playing in the natural world, and end by sharing food and gathering around the fire. The learning and support continues between the weekends, with small group coaching meetings, buddy calls, and application of the materials. The rhythm of moving between the deep-dive weekends and then having time to integrate and apply the content between the months makes the curriculum come alive and becomes a new way of living, being, and engaging the world. Countless graduates have spoken to how this iterative process has led to lasting change and transformation in every area of their lives (see Testimonials).

The time commitment for your participation will vary by individual. We request that participants attend ALL of the weekends as unity is essential to building unity and trust for our collective experience and deepening. If previous commitments mean having to miss more than one or two days of the program, please consider reapplying at another date. Outside of the weekend workshops, you can expect to spend approximately 10-15 hours per month in peer coaching and engaging in program assignments on your own time. The assignments are designed to integrate into and empower the life that you choose to lead and the work that you do in the world. Please consider your capacity to participate fully before applying to the program. For specific dates, please view the program information below. Apply Now

Please note that each weekend starts at 9am on Friday and ends at 5pm on Sunday, inclusive. Participants are asked to stay on site at Commonweal Garden for the entire duration, as we have late evening and early morning programming.

There are two steps towards registration in the Ecology of Leadership program.

The Ecology of Leadership team is committed to inclusivity, diversity and social justice. We are committed to creating a courageous, authentic space that welcomes a diverse group of participants, across lines of race, class, gender, sexual orientation and socio-economic status.

If you have financial challenges that prevent you from participating in the program, there may be a possibility of receiving a reduced tuition for the program. Please note that there are only a limited number of reduced tuition spaces available at this time, and that priority will be given to people of color.

We also encourage participants to reach out to their communities for financial support. Past participants have had great success with creating community-sourced fundraising campaigns and also with finding private donors to support their participation.

If you would like to discuss any of this further, please contact Katia Sol directly.

REVIEWING AND FACILITATION

Alumni of our Ecology of Leadership courses may return to the program in one of two capacities. Many alumni find value in “reviewing” the program, by returning for a second time. If you are interested in reviewing, please readhere for details, and then email Katia Sol to receive the link to register.

Another pathway for EOL alums called to deepen their practice, give back to the community, and develop their capacity to support others is to become part of the Facilitation Team for an upcoming program. There are a limited number of spaces available for the facilitation team each cycle, by application only. Please note that this opportunity is only for EOL alumni who have completed a four or six-month immersion journey. If you are called in this way, please review this document which includes more information regarding what the role entails. Once you have reviewed all of the details on joining the team, and are ready to take the next step, apply here.

Testimonial

"I have a deeper understanding, forgiveness, and patience and new, wiser ways of seeing the world and people around me.”